


I Have Died Every Day Waiting For You

by can_i_slytherin



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Eddie Kaspbrak Lives, Eddie Kaspbrak Loves Richie Tozier, Fluff, Gay Richie Tozier, M/M, Richie Tozier Loves Eddie Kaspbrak, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-06
Updated: 2020-01-06
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:55:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22149802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/can_i_slytherin/pseuds/can_i_slytherin
Summary: In which Eddie finds out that Richie is his soulmate on the day of his wedding ;)
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Comments: 10
Kudos: 163





	I Have Died Every Day Waiting For You

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, all, this may seem a little OOC because it's my first Reddie fic. But, feel free to leave a comment or kudos and lemme know what you think! 
> 
> This is based off of the AU in which you are born with your soulmate's first words to you tattooed on your skin, with the twist that it's just a random sentence that they will say to you at some point. (I hope that made sense)
> 
> Happy Reading!

Richie Tozier was born with the words:  _ Don’t touch me. Don’t you fucking touch me  _ scrawled on the inside of his left wrist and everyone knows the story of how Richie heard his words, but no one knows the story of when Eddie heard his words. 

He was born with the phrase:  _ I’ve only ever wanted your happiness, Eds  _ scribbled across his left hip and he was itching to meet the person that would utter those words. Little did he know that he would hear those words on his wedding day and not from the mouth of his soon-to-be-husband. 

It was 11am and his wedding was in 45 minutes. He was squirrelled away in a small room to the left of the altar, with Mike, getting the last minute intricacies for his suit sorted. As every minute passed and his ceremony drew impossibly nearer, Eddie’s heart somersaulted with excitement. 

“I’m getting married, Mike.” Eddie breathed, fiddling nervously with his tie in the mirror. 

“For a second time.” Mike added with a playful nudge. 

Eddie looked over his shoulder at the other man and stuck his tongue out, “Yeah, yeah, I know. Some of us aren’t as lucky as you.” 

Mike laughed and shook his head, brushing a piece of lint from Eddie’s back before giving him a gentle pat, “Try to make this one last, yeah?” 

The shorter man snorted and gently kicked a leg out behind him, catching Mike in the shin, “You know, I’m starting to regret asking for you in here.” 

“I’m still intrigued about that- why didn’t you ask Richie?” 

Eddie shrugged his shoulders, “Sometimes, Rich gets to be a bit much, and I needed someone calm and level-headed in here with me.” 

Mike opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by a loud knock at the door. He sighed gently, throwing Eddie a pointed look that said that their conversation was far from over, and waddled over to the door. He pulled it open and recoiled in surprise at the person standing on the other side of the door. 

“Speak of the devil…” Mike trailed off, stepping aside to let Richie into the room. 

Eddie spun around, his heart hammering in his chest, and made eye contact with Richie, his shoulders sagging in relief when the bespectacled man smiled gently at him. 

“You alright, Eds?” Richie whispered, his brows furrowed together in concern, and stepped forward, wringing his hands together nervously. 

“As good as I can be when my wedding is half an hour or so away.” Eddie replied and sighed heavily like a lovestruck teen, his hand drifting to his hip to gently rub at his words, “I honestly think this could be it, Rich, he could be the one.” 

Richie ignored the stabbing pain in his chest, forcing a smile as he lifted his gaze to Eddie, wringing his hands together, “Don’t be nervous, Eds,” he replied, hoping that Eddie didn’t notice the crack in his voice, “I actually came here to talk to you about that.” 

“Oh?” Eddie shuddered, feeling suddenly cold, and gestured to the small loveseat in the corner of the room, “Do you wanna sit?” 

“I’m not sure I can.” Richie turned to look over his shoulder at Mike with a pleading look and the man nodded in understanding, moving towards the door with gentle steps. 

“I’m going to see if Bill needs any help, yell if you need me.” Mike gently squeezed Richie’s shoulder as he passed and slipped out the door, closing it behind him with a gentle click. 

“What did you want to talk about, Rich?” Eddie whispered, unbuttoning his suit jacket to tuck his hands in his pockets. 

Richie ran a shaky hand through his hair and scrunched his nose up gently before taking a deep breath, “I need to just talk for a minute, so just shut up and fucking listen, cause if you talk then I won’t have the strength to say this.” Eddie nodded, a concern frown etched into his eyebrows, “See, the thing is that…” Eddie held his breath, waiting for some kind of confession, and barely noticed the grin that began to spread across Richie’s face, “I fucked your mom.” 

Eddie punched him hard on the shoulder, snorting when Richie groaned in pain, “I fucking hate you.” 

“No, Eds, you love me.” Richie caught Eddie’s gaze and his smile dropped, filling the room with an unnamed tension, “Look,” he ran another hand through his hair, a few strands dropping into his eyes, and Eddie fought the urge to brush them away, “for real, Eds, I can’t be here today.” 

Eddie’s heart dropped, “What?” 

“I can’t be here because I can’t bring myself to watch you get married to someone that doesn’t love you.” Richie took a deep breath, his heart hammering against his chest and stomach curling around itself, “I can’t watch you get married to someone that isn’t  _ me. _ ” 

Eddie’s breath left his lungs in a quick swoop, as if he’d been punched in the gut, and he found himself wishing that he had his inhaler as he spluttered out a reply, “What do you-” 

Richie cut him off, “I’m in love with you.” 

Eddie’s heart clenched painfully and he furrowed his eyebrows together, whining sympathetically, “Rich-” 

Richie held a hand up to stop him, “Don’t. Just let me show you something.” Eddie nodded, gaze fixed on Richie’s fingers as they rolled up the sleeve of his suit jacket and plucked open the cuff of his shirt sleeve. He rolled the fabric up, exposing the expanse of pale skin that covered his wrist, and recoiled when he caught sight of Richie’s  _ tattoo. _

_ Don’t touch me! Don’t you fucking touch me!  _

A flash of a memory flitted across his mind and Eddie felt like he had been doused in cold water. He stepped forward, leaving little space between him and Richie, and gently reached out to trace the light-grey lettering with his index finger.

“Am I…?” He tried to ask but trailed off at the end, afraid of the answer that was bound to follow. Richie simply nodded, unable to find his voice, and Eddie let out a gentle huff, tugging a hand through his hair. Richie clucked his tongue in disapproval and slipped a hand around Eddie’s wrist, pinning it to his side. 

“When?” 

“You remember that day in Neibolt, when I had to snap your arm into place?” Richie whispered, his voice small and croaky with emotion. 

“That long?” Eddie replied, his eyebrows shooting up into his hairline. 

Richie shrugged, “Longer- like the length of my wang.” He reached down and cupped the front of his trousers with a smirk. 

Eddie slapped him, “Not the time to joke, you asshat!” He allowed his hand to linger on Richie’s bicep, gently squeezing the muscle through his shirt “Why now? On the day of my wedding? Why not sooner?” 

Richie chuckled, pulling away from Eddie, and focused on pulling his sleeves back down, “Speak now or forever hold your peace, right?” 

“Richie…” Eddie breathed, his chest tightening by a fraction. 

“I just wanted to tell you, before I lost my chance.” Richie smiled, a fake, barely there gesture, “I don’t want anything from you, Eddie, just your happiness. If you’re happy, then I’m happy, and if your happiness means you getting married to somebody that isn’t me, then I will bite the bullet and watch you get married.” Richie sniffled and wiped at the tears that had begun to fall, “I’ll be here for you, just as I was before, and I’ll support you, and love you- like I always have. I’ll help you every step of the way- I’ll tell you jokes and make you laugh when you get into fights with Joshua. I’ll give you a shoulder to cry on. I’ll be your best friend, Eddie, just as I always was, and I’ll be happy with that. Until the day I die. I just want your happiness.  _ I’ve only ever wanted your happiness, Eds. _ ” 

A searing pain shot through his side and he inhaled sharply, his hand coming to rest above his hip. His head snapped up to Richie, watching with wide eyes as Richie gasped, his knees buckling. 

Eddie sank to the floor beside him, pulling Richie into his lap and close to his chest, “Richie, Richie, Richie.” He whispered his name like a prayer, running his fingers through Richie’s hair as the other man began to sob into his chest. 

Richie gripped at Eddie’s shoulders, trying to pull himself impossibly closer, and whispered Eddie’s name in a bewitched, love-filled tone. He nuzzled into Eddie’s chest, breathing in his calming scent, and snaked a hand around to his front to place a hand over his heart. 

“Richie.” He breathed, his voice high-pitched and shrouded with emotion, and his throat stung, a lump steadily building there, “I need to go. It’s time, Richie, please. Come on.” 

“Don’t get married, Eds. Please.” Richie begged. 

“As if I could marry someone that wasn’t my soulmate. We need to get out there, okay? But, I promise, I won’t marry Joshua, I promise you, Richie.” 

“Yeah, yeah.” Richie nodded, frantically wiping at his eyes, “Okay.” 

Eddie pressed their foreheads together, a hair-width apart, and tapped Richie’s thigh as a signal for the other man to stand up. Richie rose to his feet, holding out his hands for Eddie to take, and the shorter man smiled, taking Richie’s hands in his own. Richie gave them a gentle squeeze, rubbing his thumbs across Eddie’s knuckles, before he let out a deep, shaky breath, staring at Eddie with clouded eyes. 

“C’mon. You’ve got a wedding to stop.” Richie smirked, pulling Eddie out of the room and towards the room where Joshua was hiding away in. 

“I don’t think that I can do this.” Eddie whispered, his face paling and hands beginning to shake. 

“Hey,” Richie grabbed Eddie’s hands tighter and pressed a gentle kiss to his knuckles, “you’re gonna be fine. I’m sure that Joshua will understand, he’s a good person.” 

“That’s why I can’t do this! He’s so kind and it’s going to break him.” Eddie hissed, ripping his hands from Richie’s grip to pace across the hallway. 

“ _ Eddie. _ ” Richie breathed, staring at the shorter man with an arched eyebrow, “He’ll get over this. He’ll find his own soulmate one day, he’ll find the person that will say those words to him, but he has to understand that that person cannot be you.” 

“God, I hate you.” Eddie whispered, tugging a hand through his hair, “Why are you being the reasonable one, shouldn’t it be the other way around?” 

Richie shrugged, “Must be that good fucking that I got from your mum last night.” 

Eddie groaned, reaching out to swat at Richie’s arm, and narrowed his eyes when Richie leapt out of the way with a gentle giggle. 

“I need to go in there.” Eddie whispered, gaze drifting towards the shut door of Joshua’s room, “I need to stop this.” The shorter man paused for a second before looking up at Richie with pleading eyes, “Will you stay?” 

Richie nodded, stepping forward to tug Eddie into a tight hug, “ Always. I’ll be right here, waiting for you, whenever you’re ready for me.” He whispered into Eddie’s hair, “I’m not going anywhere, Eds.” 

“Thank you.” He stepped away from the hug and turned towards the door, hesitating for a moment before he turned to look at Richie over his shoulder, “I won’t be too long.” 

“Take your time, Spaghetti.” The black-haired man whispered, “I’ll stay right here.” 

“Okay, be back in a sec.” Eddie took a deep breath, his hand hovering over the doorknob, and closed his eyes before pushing into the room with a shudder. 

Richie stepped back and leant against the wall behind him, staring out at the interior decorations of the chapel as his mind began to wander. 

He thought about what his life would be like after today. He thought about waking up with Eddie and falling asleep with him. He thought about cooking with him and doing the laundry- all the domestic stuff that he constantly ribbed the other Losers for doing. He thought about lazy days, sprawled out under the bright LA sun, or cuddled up on the sofa and about busy days, going on dates and having fun. He thought about kissing Eddie goodbye in the mornings on his way to work and again when he got home. 

Before he could ponder anymore, Eddie exited the room, closing the door behind him and leaning against it with a heavy sigh. Richie turned to him, smiling gently, and gently reached out to him, laying a steady hand on his forearm, “How’d it go?” 

“He knew.” Eddie whispered. 

Richie recoiled, “What?” 

“He knew that we weren’t destined. He knew that you were my soulmate.” Eddie let out an incredulous laugh, a wide grin spreading across his face. 

“How?” Richie snaked his hand down and intertwined their fingers together. 

“I’m not sure- he said something about the way that we acted with each other. Though, I think there’s more to it than that.” Eddie peaked open an eye, his eyes shining with happiness, and his grin grew wider at the sight of Richie’s steadily growing smile. 

“What now?” 

Eddie whipped his phone out, waving at Richie, “We message the Losers, go to a bar and get fucking wasted. Then,” Eddie breathed, “we go home.” 

Richie hummed in agreement and nodded gently, “Good idea, Eduardo.” Richie glanced down at Eddie, smiling gently when he saw the shorter man starting up at him with a calculating look, “Admiring my beauty?” 

Eddie chuckled and shook his head, smirking, “Nah, trying to figure out how one person can be so  _ ugly. _ ” 

Richie gasped, feigning hurt, and turned away, pouting, “You wound me, Edwin.” 

“Richie-” 

“No!” Richie turned his head further away, refusing to look Eddie in the eyes, but the grin on his face told him that he wasn’t truly annoyed. 

“ _ Richie!”  _ Eddie yelped, gripping Richie’s chin and forcing the other man to look down at him. His expression softened, eyes filling with unadulterated love, and he smiled gently, “Kiss me?” 

“Now, Eddie, at least take me to do-” Richie was cut off by Eddie’s lips pressing against his own. He whined low in his throat, winding an arm around Eddie’s waist to pull him impossibly closer, and snaked a hand up into Eddie’s hair, keeping him in place as he deepened the kiss. 

Eddie’s hand drifted upwards, brushing across Richie’s pectorals as they settled over his heart, and he moaned gently into the kiss as Richie sucked on his bottom lip. 

Richie, albeit reluctantly, pulled away and rested their foreheads together, breath fanning across each others faces. A moment’s silence passed, both taking the time to relish in the feeling of each other, before Richie spoke up, breaking the tranquility, “We should go find the others.” 

Eddie groaned, “Don’t wanna let go of you.” 

Richie gently squeezed his hip, “So, don’t.” 

Eddie grinned and moved to grip Richie’s hand before leading him out of the chapel. They soon joined up with the rest of the Losers, who greeted them with various degrees of congratulations, and smiled sheepishly before falling back into their usual routine of joking with each other. 

  
With a hearts full of love, Eddie and Richie fell into step beside their friends and headed to a bar to follow through on their promise of getting  _ fucking wasted.  _


End file.
